1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a carton for dispensing personal care articles such as towelettes.
2. The Related Art
Disposable cloths, pads, sheets and tissues (collectively defined as towelettes) are established articles of commerce. Generally the towelettes are stacked one upon another. Sometimes they are also interleaved. Especially with fluid impregnated towelettes, a flexible fluid impervious soft plastic wrapping is used at least as an inner packaging. In most instances, an outer relatively rigid packaging is utilized for purposes of in-store display. The package also serves to reseal the articles against dust and other contamination. Much technology has gone into developing outer packaging for personal care articles, especially towelette stacks.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,996,797 (Flaig) discloses a folded carton surrounding a plastic pouch for storing/dispensing a stack of towelettes. The carton features a lid hingedly attached which overlies a dispensing opening and at least a portion of flanking panels. A tab is bent orthogonal to the lid and insertable into a slit formed within a front wall of the carton.
WO 00/30955 (Lohmann) discloses a dispenser for seal-edge bags in the form of a folded box. A deck panel of the box includes a perforated area and is overlain by a closure panel. An adhesive binds an under-surface of the closure panel to the perforated area. Upon lifting the closure panel, the perforated portion is ripped from the deck panel revealing a dispensing aperture for articles held therein.
Despite the plethora of dispensing cartons, there still is a need for improvements. For instance, once a seal of the carton has been broken, the lid may not be securely closable. There may also be difficulties in readily flipping open the lid.